I sat back in my seat after Anko-sensei left, feeling very much relieved. I was quite sure no other teacher was scarier than her, so I didn't worry much about the other teachers.

Speaking of other teacher, where was the next? I consulted my schedule. English, one of my favorite subjects, was coming up. I sure hope our next sensei will be good.

I turned to my friends. Kiba-kun was already talking to the red-haired boy behind me. I smiled to myself. He and Naruto-kun were somewhat alike in that respect: both of them were talkative.

Kiba-kun was quizzing the boy about himself. It looked like the redhead was starting to get annoyed; a nerve was twitching in his temple, and his answers were monosyllabic.

"Hey," Kiba-kun said, "are you from another section?"

"No," the boy answered, his arms crossed.

"Another school?"

"Yes."

"Oh! So that's why I've never seen you around before! But the school doesn't accept transferees in the first section; that only happens when you're a freshman! Wow! You must be really smart! Are you smart?"

"Hn."

"What school are you from, then? Honmaru? Japoness? Mishima?"

"Hn."

"Kiba-kun," I interrupted his barrage of questions. "Don't—don't you think he's—"

Before I could finish, Kiba-kun clapped a hand on my shoulder. "Hey, Hinata-chan! Let me introduce you to… uh… what did you say your name was again?"

"I didn't say," the boy replied.

I looked at him, feeling a little shy, and offered him a smile. "What—what's your name?" I asked hesitantly.

He looked at me straight in the eye. I tried to avoid his piercing gaze, but couldn't… I was drawn by those somewhat sad eyes. For a moment, I felt an electric current spark between us. The room felt strangely heavy. It was almost eerie, like entering an empty cathedral.

The boy broke the spell first. "My name," he said, carefully enunciating each word, "is Sabaku Gaara. What is yours?"

"I'm pleased to meet you, Sabaku-san," I said, inclining my head. "I am Hyuuga Hinata."

"Gaara," he said.

"Uh… what?" I asked, baffled. Why would he repeat his name when he already gave it to me?

"Call me Gaara, Hyuuga-san. I do not like to be bothered by suffixes," he said.

I smiled at him again. He was a little serious, but he was all right. I think he's a lot like Shino-kun. Shino-kun knows more than he lets on, and there are many layers to him.

For the first time, I made a deal with someone. And with Gaara, no less! "I will call you Gaara only if you stop calling me by my last name." I held out a hand to him.

"I understand… Hinata-san." He looked at my hand for a moment, then slowly brought his hand to shake mine.

"That's a start," I said happily.

"Hey!" Kiba-kun suddenly exclaimed. "How come you talk a lot more with Hinata-chan?"

"Hn," Gaara replied.

"Nobody really enjoys talking to a blabbermouth, Kiba. Your species are too loud," Shino-kun said from his seat behind Kiba-kun.

"Hey, repeat that again, bug boy! You want your face up in my ass?" Kiba-kun asked hotly.

"Um, Kiba-kun, Shino-kun…" I started worriedly.

"Of course, Hinata-chan likes blabbermouths, especially blond ones who have a talent for getting on people's nerves," Shino-kun said, ignoring Kiba-kun's… comment and looking at me. "Isn't that right?"

I immediately turned red and looked away. "Um, well… I don't know what you're talking about, Shino-kun," I said, poking my fingers together. Really, Shino-kun can sometimes be a pain. Even though he's silent most of the time, he still loves to tease about my crush on Naruto-kun five years ago, when we were twelve. I can't believe Shino-kun still remembered that!

"Isn't that right?" Shino-kun repeated, more forcefully.

I poked my fingers some more. "Not anymore, Shino-kun…" It's true! Well, for the most part, the crush was gone, and only a lingering admiration remained. I sneaked a peek at Gaara out of the corner of my eye. He was watching me with those shards of ice as eyes.

Wait a minute… Watching me? I blushed furiously as I turned abruptly and buried my face in a textbook. Why should he be watching me? Maybe I was imagining it… Why would anyone spare a glance at me, anyway?

"Aw man, Hinata-chan! You're still not over that dobe, then?" Kiba-kun asked incredulously.

I looked up at Kiba-kun surprised. "What are you..." I started to say, but stopped. He must have mistaken my blush as a sign that I still like Naruto-kun!

"No, that's not true, Kiba-kun!" I said hastily. I looked at Shino-kun for support, but he had his hand held out at Kiba-kun's face. Kiba-kun reluctantly dropped some bills in Shino-kun's outstretched hand.

"What's going on here?" I demanded, looking at one guilty face to another.

"They had a deal whether or not you still like that Naruto," Gaara said, with a hint of something like contempt in his voice.

I looked at him for a moment, amazed. How did he come up with that? I turned to Kiba-kun and Shino-kun. "Is this true?" I asked.

Kiba-kun hung his head. "Well… Sort of…" he mumbled sheepishly. "Bug boy and I made a bet three years ago, when you told us that you didn't have a crush on Naruto baka anymore."

I sighed. it was really harmless, I know, since it was three years ago and it didn't really matter to me. But I couldn't help but feel a little irritated at both of them. I glanced at Kiba-kun's cheeks. I knew he hated to be pinched.

"Come here, Kiba-kun," I said. "I want to tell you something."

I fought for a straight face as Kiba-kun obliged, and I placed my mouth near his ear. He leaned in closer, and letting out a yell, I proceeded to pinch his cheeks really hard. I sat back, satisfied and giggling, as Kiba-kun let out a howl and glared at me.

"Hey dog boy! Shut it!" someone from the front said. Kiba-kun glared at him then turned to me, rubbing his cheek.

"How come only I get pinched?" Kiba-kun complained.

"Because Shino-kun has no cheeks," I answered.

"Hn. I'll take that as a compliment," Shino-kun said, folding his arms.

Suddenly, the door opened, and a silver-haired sensei with a mask entered the room. I shook my head. Konoha High was really diverse.

"Yo," he raised a hand in greeting. "Sorry I'm late. My name is Hatake Kakashi, and I'll be your English teacher." As he leaned forward, a book fell out of his pocket.

Haruno Sakura, who was in front, picked up the book. She tucked her pink hair behind her ear and her green eyes widened. "Icha Icha Paradise!" she said a little too loudly, reading the book's title.

There was approving guffaws from the boys, and shocked gasps from the girls. I was only mildly surprised. Icha Icha Paradise was a porn book, but I wasn't foreign with it. I saw Neji-niisan with a copy in his hands last year.

Kakashi-sensei snatched the book out of Sakura-san's hands and stuffed it inside his pocket. He rubbed the back of his neck apologetically. "Who was your English awardee last year and who here has English as a favorite subject? Come on, raise your hands."

Some people chorused, "Hyuuga Hinata!"

I was embarrassed.

Kakashi-sensei lifted a visible brow. "Who is the Hyuuga Hinata?"

I timidly raised my hand. A part of me was embarrassed, but a bigger part was pleased with the acknowledgement.

"Good!" Kakashi-sensei clapped his hands together. "I have a special job for you."

Just then, Uchiha-san and Gaara raised their hands.

"Oh? More enthusiasts? Well, then!"

Seeing Uchiha-san raise his hand, many of the girls did too.

Kakashi-sensei held up his hands, chuckling. "Hyuuga Hinata and the two boys…" he consulted the seat plan "…Uchiha Sasuke and Sabaku Gaara are enough for the job that I have in mind." His eye twinkled.

What could be the job that Kakashi-sensei wants us to do?

He perched on the edge of the teacher's desk. "You have a project to be passed on the first week of March."

The class groaned, but it only made Kakashi-sensei happier.

"You will be assigned to you groups with five members each—assign your group leader—and you will make…" he paused for emphasis "…a novel or a play, depending on your choice. You will then act your works out in a play. You can videotape it or act it live in the classroom."

The groans were louder this time.

"Hey, Hina-chan, I sure hope I get to be in your group!" Kiba-kun said.

"You'll only let me do all the writing, I bet," I teased him. I suppose if I did all the writing, it wouldn't be too bad. But that wouldn't be fair to the other members of the group.

"Settle down, settle down," Kakashi-sensei said in a bored voice. The noise level dropped a few bars. He studied the seat plan. "Now, remember who all your groupmates are. First group: Yamanaka Ino, Aburame Shino, Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuuga Hinata, and Uzumaki Naruto."

"In your face, Forehead Girl!" Ino-san shouted to Sakura-san. Sakura-san shouted something unintelligible and they both began bickering again.

I scribbled down the names of my groupmates and turned to smile at Shino-kun. He smiled back and gave a funny little wave, which made me laugh.

"Aww, you're not my groupmate, Hina-chan! Now I won't get a decent grade on the project!" Kiba-kun wailed.

"Don't worry, Kiba-kun!" I consoled him. "I'm sure you have equally capable groupmates!"

Kakashi-sensei was calling out the next group. The whole class was buzzing with noise, but I heard a… derisive… snort behind me.

I turned to Gaara. "What's wrong?" I asked him.

He looked away but thrust a piece of paper at me. I took it, curious. Scrawled in small letters were the names of his groupmates.

I gave the paper back to him. "Don't worry, Gaara-kun—I mean, Gaara!" I added, anxious to fulfill my part of our little "deal." I gave him what I hope was a reassuring smile. "Since you're new here, you can make friends with your groupmates. After all, they are quite friendly people," I told him, smiling.

He shrugged and looked away. "Whatever."

"Cheer up!" I chuckled. "Tell you what—have lunch with us later!"

His eyes traveled to me. "I prefer to eat alone."

I tried not to let my disappointment show. "Okay, but the offer still stands as long as you want it," I told him glumly. I turned back to Shino-kun and Kiba-kun.

-o0o-

A/N: Wow! Thanks so much for the reviews, guys! A special shout out (guess I'm watching too much Studio Disney) to Shanice Radcliffe, who proved she reads the whole fic, up to the author's note. XD And also to DemonFirGirlHotaru… My, my, wasn't that a long review! One that I especially enjoyed. And lastly, to shikaruTo! Thanks! I love you for reading it too!

Anyway, this chapter is pretty much a turning point, especially since it'll revolve around that project Kakashi-sensei wants. Hmm… Pretty big order, don't ya think? Who'll be Hinata's group's leader? Who'll be her assistant? What are they going to do, a novel, or a play? When's the road trip?